


Osari

by Silius1



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gods & Goddesses, Swords & Sorcery, Tribal Societies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25964881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silius1/pseuds/Silius1
Summary: Life was considered peaceful in the world of Taomeria despite the dangerous monsters living in the shadows between the few bastions of civilization that exist between the seven tribes: Spirit Warriors, Phantom, Goliath, Phoenix, Aquarius, Hawk, and Valkyrie, but the discovery of some ruins in the region surrounding Cudnan Bluff resulted in tragedy as the Spirit Warriors were nearly eradicated had their blessings and protection removed and given a strict mandate if they were to be forgiven: Venture into the depths of the site: Nimua and destroy the relic hidden within.





	1. Prologue

Upon entering the final segment in the labyrinth’s deepest metallic catacombs, cutting down the last of the nearby Valkyrie tribe hunters that were driven mad when word spread of an artifact known as ‘Osari’, one of the few surviving members of the Spirit Warrior Tribe: Aria Parcel stepped forward with new companions she began to journey with during her expedition through the treacherous vault known as Nimua who were able to resist the maddening influence of this vault: Miki Penrose of the Aquarius tribe, Felix Kendrik of the Hawk tribe, and Juan Trahern of the Phoenix tribe

“What an unmitigated waste of human lives. To think that our tribes, whom were once considered allies to protect each other against the monsters lying out in the shadow, had decided it optimal to tear each other apart like mindless animals in the name of power that may not even exist. We were even forced to kill fellow members of Aquarius, Hawk, and Phoenix. People we all treat as family.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way Felix. I worry that I’ll be treated as a traitor by my village elders. I killed so many members of my tribe, all to stop them from falling into depravity from this cursed jewel.” Miki stopped speaking as she had turned to face Aria, whose face was beyond despondent “Er, are you okay Aria?”

“No. I am not _okay_ Miki. I’ve had to kill good members of my own tribe! Remember that one of those people was my own little brother! He was only _sixteen_! We were supposed to be working together, but we were content to kill each other at the promise of power of this cursed artifact. One hundred and forty three confirmed deaths, too many of those deaths were at my own hand. We sent the last of our capable fighters to this vault, which was a hundred and fifty according to our elders. Not counting myself, there’s six people unaccounted for, but considering all of the tribes came here for this thing, they’re likely dead as well. With those hundred and forty nine people gone, there are a mere two hundred and eighty eight people left among the Spirit Warriors. Before, our population was in the hundreds of thousands, but now we are a hollow shell of our former strength thanks to our patron destroying our capital. It is not unthinkable that we will be extinguished, but if we destroy this cursed jewel, she might just save us from destruction. Us and the other tribes.”

“We have all suffered greatly, Parcel. Not just you. Our families are dead just like yours. So quit the-”

“Will you stop your insensitive arguments Juan?!”

“Leave him be Miki...he has a point.” Aria put a hand on Miki’s shoulder to get her to stop her side of the argument as she walked towards the dead Valkyrie tribe members and cupped her hands in prayer, mourning their deaths since the Valkyrie tribe had long been considered loyal bodyguards and companions to the Spirit Warrior tribe; Aria even knowing two of the fighters she had killed from her childhood: Horirem Bantanath and Echidna Taskhtali “Hori...Chia...I’m so sorry.”

* * *

2 years prior

* * *

It had seemed like a regular day for this expedition team comprised of members of the Spirit Warrior tribe, having set up camp outside a mountain range they call Cudnan Bluff after receiving a tip from their neighbors in the Valkyrie tribe, saying that they found some more ruins in the region in a remote corner, having no interest in contesting them since the Spirit Warriors were in the region first, that and they’re the experts in archaeology related fields. Upon reaching the structure proper, finding the exterior to be that of an abandoned fort, they carefully enter the courtyard and begin inspecting the walls around them with magic orbs illuminating their surroundings, namely, the carvings and indentations embedded in the stone

“These things look ancient.”

“Ancient is putting it mildly. I don’t recognize the language here. This doesn’t look like anything the tribes use-Wait, I think I know one of these words.” One of the team members paused as he ran his finger over the strange characters “It spells...Nimua?”

“Nimua? That’s not a word I recognize.” His gaze turned towards the door at the heart of the structure as he noticed a peculiar amalgamation of symbols built into the keyhole at the center, recognizing segments as the emblems of their clan crests and once he placed his hand on the door, the keyhole lit up as it retracted into the material, the door opening to reveal the interior.

However, soon after the door had opened for the expedition team, they stopped in their tracks as they heard a strange sound, making them turn their heads in all directions but when they look upward, they saw a bright beam of light expanding in the heavens above them

“W-What is that…?”

* * *

This was the last thought that this man was able to muster as the beam of light killed them all in a near instant, them and members from other tribes who had set up operations in the region, namely Valkyrie, Goliath, and Hawk, alongside any wildlife living there.

Concurrent alongside the eradication of the expedition team outside of Nimua, the same sort of beam of light struck against the capital of the Spirit Warrior tribe: Isaria, except, this one leveled the entire cityscape which contained over two thirds of their population since the tribe had focused most of their people there, with fragmented populations in fringe villages far away, leaving only a crater. And to add fuel to the fire, the guardian patron god to the Spirit Warriors: Ceshena left a message via magical telepathy across what few people remains of the tribe

[You have committed a grave sin, Spirit Warriors. You have disturbed sacred ground because of your foolish spelunking and your punishment will be severe. Your capital has been razed to the ground and we will be reclaiming our blessing. Your magic, your guardians, you will lose them all. If you wish to regain my favor, you are to send your warriors to Cudnan Bluff and destroy the relic within.]


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks have passed since the eradication of the capital of the Spirit Warriors: Isaria and the need to assemble warriors to Cudnan Bluff resulted in the villages forcing young adults and teenagers to abandon their own interests to take up the art of combat with swords, spears, axes, daggers, bows, crossbows, and other such weapons since their ability to use magic had been taken away from them because of Ceshena’s machinations. In one of the larger villages that was spared from destruction, a young sculptor at the age of sixteen: Aria Parcel, who was known to be a social outcast who preferred being by herself or with the few people she trusts as a means to cope with her severe social anxiety has been drafted into training with a sword and shield alongside several others in the village

“Parcel, quit slacking off and focus on the target in front of you!!” In response to the fact that their people are at risk, the village elder took up the responsibility of training the fighters to prepare them for what is awaiting them in the future as he screamed at Aria, making her squirm in fright

“Y-Y-Y-Y...Yes...sir. I-I...I’m sorry.” Despite the fact that the very idea of fighting frightens her to the deepest fiber of her being, Aria pulled up her longsword and struck it against the metal training dummy in front of her, her movements being stiff and unresponsive since this is only her third time wielding weapons like this within the past week, seeing some of her fellow villagers suffering alongside her, struggling to adapt to the fact that they have lost their magic, their primary means of defending themselves and how they handle a majority of their day-to-day lives, though the one that concerned her the most was that of her younger brother being trained alongside a professional spear-user since he was even more unused to combat ‘ _I don’t understand why Lady Ceshena punished us this severely. It makes no sense. She took away our means of defending ourselves and expects us to delve into a monster infested ruin? We’re going to be slaughtered if we try this. Especially since we’re not warriors! What doesn’t help is that we’re going to be sent out in six months no matter what condition we’re in._ ’

* * *

After the day-long training session ran its course, Aria limped out of the training field and desperately tried to reach her home so she could lay down and let her body unwind, her body surging with pain as she struggled to walk, but when it looked like she was about to collapse, she was caught by two of the only people who don’t set off Aria’s anxiety attacks: Horirem Bantanath and Echidna Taskhtali, both from the neighboring Valkyrie tribe, seeing the latter first which made her weakly smile, but as soon as she noticed the former, her cheeks immediately flared a bright red, her body too weak and exhausted from the grueling training to pry herself from Horirem’s grasp

“H-Hori! W-What are you doing here?!”

“Gee, what am I to you Ria? Invisible? I know you’re this idiot’s betrothed but I thought you’d have gotten over the awkward phases of your relationship by now.”

“H-Hey! That’s going too far Echidna!” To her relative surprise, both Horirem and Aria made this remark simultaneously.

“Wow, you’re even in-sync. That’s not something you’d see in your average relationship.”

“U-Um...Hori, Chia, why are you here?”

“We heard about what happened to your people Aria. Our elder asked a couple hundred of us to go to what few villages remain and help protect you. The Hawk and Goliath tribes are sending people as well. We’re not going to let you suffer.”

“T-Thanks Hori. W-What about the other tribes?”

After hearing this question, Echidna cupped her chin with her hand “We’ve reached out to them; Aquarius doesn’t have the manpower needed for the task since they’re trying to reinforce their border because of a recent monster outbreak, that, and their heiress has disappeared as well, but the Phoenix and Phantom tribes are strangely quiet. We’ve been sending out scouts to investigate what’s going on, but none of them have returned and we’re going to be sent to investigate soon ourselves. We’re worried, but we need to focus on the here and now. Anyway, we’ll take over the matter of training you for combat until we have to leave.”

“Do you think you could start tomorrow? I’m in too much pain.”

“We’re not heartless Ria. Horirem, take a look at her weapons here and make sure they’re up to the task. I’ll nurse her back to shape.”

Readjusting herself to support Aria properly as they walk, Echidna slowly walked towards Aria’s abode while Horirem set out for the armory with her weapons in hand; being greeted rather warmly since Aria’s family knows her well from their childhood and after reaching Aria’s room, Echidna helped her reach her bed

“Okay Ria, I’m going to do a little electrotherapy with my magic to help unbind your muscles. It should help you relax a little. I’ll try to be gentle.”

Snapping her fingers together to activate the veins of magic she can access, Echidna gently touched a number of nerve points across her body and let small volts of electricity flow out of her fingertips, noticing Aria squirming on instinct because of how she is being struck with static “Try to keep still okay? I want to avoid having the static straying from the nerve points where it could actually do some damage.”

“I-I’m...trying. It’s tickling me too much.”

* * *

Once Echidna finished the electrotherapy, she took a few steps back towards a chair in the corner as Aria readjusted herself “Now that we’re by ourselves, I can ask: Ria, you sure you want to fight like this? Couldn’t you seek refuge with us? We’ll protect you and find a way to get your magic back.”

“It’s...not about just me. My tribe is in danger...I need to do this.”

“But you’re not a warrior. You’ve dreamt of being a sculptor your whole life.”

Aria simply shook her head, frowning sadly since she has resigned herself to the futility of the matter; a vast majority of their experienced fighters have been killed in Isaria and these recruits have no choice but to be trained as quickly as possible and dispatched to Cudnan Bluff “Doesn’t matter. We don’t need sculptors, artists, creative thinkers right now. We need people who can kill monsters. Please don’t try to convince me otherwise, I’m already hesitating about this.”

Hearing Aria speak so bluntly did little to allay Echidna's feelings on the matter but pushed them aside since the matter simply is too grave to be ignored “I understand. I’ll let you get some rest before we start your training under our watch. I’ll work with Horirem to personalize it enough that you get the most efficiency possible while not making you suffer.” Echidna paused as she walked to sit down next to Aria “While I mocked ya about it earlier, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about your engagement to that dork Horirem. You have a date planned?”

“Yeah. About two years from now.”

“Wow, so soon? Well, I’m not going to argue with your strange tastes. Either way, I hope I’m invited to the wedding.”

“Haha, I wouldn’t dream of excluding you Chia.”

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

A few weeks had passed since the region of Cudnan Bluff was struck by the might of their guardian deities and the patience of one of them: Seius who oversees the Phantom tribe had reached his limit once he learned of what happened as he stormed towards the guardian of the Spirit Warriors: Ceshena, destroying some of the automata soldiers she created to help protect her with ease “Ces-hena!!!” Seius snarled loudly once her presence was finally made apparent, dashing forward and decking her in the face, sending her to the ground with almighty force “You had better explain your reasoning for what. The. FUCK. you did!!! You used Interitum without authorization!”

Turning to face Seius, Ceshena snarled just as fiercely without any of the gentle nobility she has been known for among the people of the Spirit Warriors “The lowly dirt-loving peasants uncovered Nimua!”

“And you think nuking the entire mountain range is the appropriate course of action?!?! The Spirit Warrior, Valkyrie, Goliath, and Hawk tribes had set up operations throughout that region to excavate old ruins and those tribes had been relaying information back to their capitals. They know of Cudnan Bluff’s location and thanks to your fuck-up, all of the tribes know that something valuable must be in Nimua. Especially when you nuked Isaria as well! Thanks to you, they’re going to be driven to uncover Osari. Remember we are still recovering from the last war; our casualties were immense and if the locals reach it-”

“The answer is simple. If they try anything, we’ll blast them to kingdom come.”

“NOT POSSIBLE YOU DAMN IDIOT!!!! Interitum wasn’t meant to handle multiple blasts in succession! It’s going to take ten years to repair that satellite and remember that aside from these useless automata, we each only have one guardian left in our arsenal. Worst case scenario, you’ve left us all to die!”

“Then what do you suggest, Seius?”

Hearing Ceshena speak back to him so flippantly only served to heighten the rage brewing within him as he turned his back to her “If I remember right, we left a surprise lying in wait since we didn’t want to risk a counter-attack. Activate it.” Knowing this was going to happen one way or another, since either Dragone or Vylphy, guardian deities to the Phoenix and Valkyrie tribes, would’ve given this order themselves, Seius walked away with a warped smirk on his face ‘ _It’s been two thousand years, but I’m finally going to be able to make my move._ ’ As soon as he reached his own private sanctum, sections of the realm that no one else has access to in any form, he reached out to the leader of the Phantom tribe as he sat in lotus style and channeled the magic streams emanating around him [ **Judra, do you hear me?** ]

[ **I do Divine One. What can this lowly servant do for you?** ]

[ **If I know you as well as I believe I do, you’re already assembling an army to send to Cudnan Bluff, am I right?** ]

[ **Y-Yes. We’re going to investigate what happened to help the Spirit Warriors.** ]

[ **Disengage. I don’t want any of you anywhere close to that place. You are in position to become the strongest power in the realm. Conserve your strength.** ]

[ **Understood. I’ll tell the warriors to stand down and return to their stations.** ]

* * *

Once he is content with the orders he gave to his subjects, Seius rose up and walked over to the far wall which held a darkened capsule, knowing the importance of these capsules they possess, and worked the holographic controls to retract it into the wall where it’d be impossible to find by mere sight, before he approached a panel built into the wall where the door is and held his hand against it, which unleashed a swarm of nanomachines which enveloped his body and created a set of cybernetic armor from his neck all the way down to his feet, leaving nothing exposed to any potential attacks, brushing his black hair to the side “I have six months to prepare. Our ace in the hole has vulnerabilities since it won’t affect everyone.” Seius paused as he closed his eyes and trained his focus as a katana appeared in his right hand which was created through the nanomachines, crouching down as kept the sheath to his lower torso and rapidly drew the blade as he did a few test slashes “When the time is right, I’ll make my move. This will be fun.”


End file.
